The search is already on for a new chief of Deutsche Boerse with the aim of finding a candidate by the end of the year, the company`s finance chief told analysts on Friday.

Gregor Pottmeyer, chief financial officer, said the goal was to reach a "decision as soon as possible, ideally before year end."

On Thursday, the German exchange operator announced that its embattled chief executive Carsten Kengeter was stepping down amid continuing allegations of insider trading - allegations that both Kengeter and Deutsche Boerse say are unfounded.

A search committee was formed on Thursday and had already begun its work, Pottmeyer said.

Kengeter, who will stay on as CEO in the interim, is an ambitious ex-investment banker who just months into his short tenure was designing a bold merger with the London Stock Exchange to create a global titan in the industry. The effort failed.

Now Deutsche Boerse is competing with LSE, which is also looking for a new chief.

"Deutsche Boerse needs a CEO who is well networked, but not just in a single industry, and someone who has close relations to state and federal politicians," said Klaus Nieding of shareholder lobby group DSW. "Deutsche Boerse should become the leading European exchange operator after the Brexit decision."

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